pnut pnut Peanut Science 0095-3679 0095-3679 American Peanut Research and Education Society 10.3146/i0095-3679-20-2-6 Articles Inheritance of Leaflet Size in Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)1 N. B. Essomba , T. A. Coffelt *, W. D. Branch , and S. W. Van Scoyoc 2 Former Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0404; Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 7099, Suffolk, VA 23437-7099; Professor, Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment, Station, Tifton, GA 31793-0748; and Former Assistant Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0404, respectively

1Contribution from Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences and Tidewater Agricultural Experiment Station, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg and Suffolk, Virginia; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Suffolk, Virginia; and the Agronomy Department, Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station, University of Georgia, College of Agriculture, Tifton, Georgia. Partial financial support was provided from the Government of Cameroon and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

 *Corresponding author. 7 1993 20 2 90 93 22 5 1993 American Peanut Research and Education Society 1993 American Peanut Research and Education Society Abstract

Leaves are the main site of photosynthesis in plants. Leaf size and shape have been shown to be related to disease resistance. Therefore, understanding the inheritance of traits related to them is important. Conflicting results have been reported on the inheritance of leaflet size in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Some indicate qualitative inheritance and others quantitative determination. This study was undertaken to examine the genetic factors which control leaflet size in peanut. F2 populations from a modified diallel (excluding self-crosses) with three parents, A. monticola and two A. hypogaea genotypes (Argentine and T2442), were used in this experiment. In contrast with previous studies, the measurement technique used took into account the within-plant variability which occurs for this trait. Results suggest that: a) leaflet size may be quasi-quantitatively inherited; i.e., its inheritance may present distinguishable genotypes within continuous variation; b) the inheritance of leaflet size may involve two types of alleles of which one would be responsible for large leaflet size, while the other would be responsible for small leaflet size; and c) the use of progressive measurement scales and the analysis of ungrouped data are advisable on genetic studies of some morphological traits in peanut.

 Key Words Groundnut; , qualitative inheritance; , quasiquantitative inheritance